The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-05-01
WOMEN AS WAGE-WORKERS.
The Pay They Receive and the Number Of
Hours They Are Required to Work.

There is probably not a city in the United
States that. in proportion to population has SO
many of its young women who are engaged IN
the Iaudable pursuit of earning their own living
as indianapolis. 1t is part of her population
that this city may we'll be proud OF. for It Ia
cheerful and commendable form of fndepend-
ence There are perhaps fully twice as many
working women here as there were five years
ago. In some branches OF business where Few
years ago they were novelty they now greatly
predomInate. This is largely the case in the re-
tail dry-gcods trade and among dealers
in fancy goods. In these two lines there
are now about three hundred young women.
Their weekly wages range from So. so to $40 a
week, and in exceptional cases reach 81
Good sales-ladies - said dry-goods m an ''are
always in request. They co ming to be pre-
ferred TO men. This is especially true when 1t
comes TO handling hne goods, ribbons and en-
broideries. They know how to suit the Gus
toners and their taste and judgment are asked
and taken by the buyer They show keener
interest in such things than a male clerk and
have exceedingly clever ways in urging Gus
toner to buy. They know their own sex and
all the varities and foibes OF the female Gus
toner they read as an open book"
The hours Of theAs saleswomen are from A.
NJ. to P. NJ. with one hour at noon for lunch
In all the stores these clerks are allowed
to sit down when not engaged in waiting upon
customers or arranging goods, though usually IN
busy season, like the present, they nave few
occasions in which they can enjoy this privilege.
There are nearly thousand women and girls
employed in what is known overall work,
which has come to include the making OF a great
variety of coarse but strong and durable ma
terial into suits that not only go from
Indianapolis over all the Western and
Southern States, but are sold from North to
South 2 500 miles of territory, and reach
across the continent to California and Oregon.
These suits for farmers, miners. teamsters.
cowboys. plantation hands, lumbermen, ana
now natural gas and oil shooters. These gar
ments are all piece-work, and seamstresses get,
according to proficiency in running the machine.
from So to 50 week An average good GOD
as $10 or, rarely, $lO.50 These
manufactured articles consist. besides overalls
of cottonade, cashmere and moleskin panta-
looms. cotton and flannel skirts, seersucker coats
and vests, cottonade coats and vests. flannel
coats and vests. and the Little Charley vest"
which has sleeves, is a sort of Jacket, and very
popular. mississippi merinos." fine sort OF
jeans, is also fashioned into pantaloons. Jeans
pantaloons are sold at prices ranging from
$3.50 to $50 dozen. The six factories
here work their employees from A. NJ till P.
NJ, with an hour for dinner, quitting at o'clock
Saturday afternoon. In these factories the
needles make many as 1900 stitches minute.
Some of the factories have machines that make
from 1.20G to 800 buttonholes day and put
on 800 buttons
There is hosiery mill employing fifty girls
and women, and another empty the same
number will start in few days on South street.
between Meridian and Pennsylvania. In the
hosiery mills the hours the same as in the
overall factories. The wages run from 81 to
81. 80 week, piece work
Mr. r. G. Harseim, one of the employers, said
to journal reporter, Il have been thinking of
letting my force off at noon Saturday. wish
all the overall manufacturers would agree to
that believe the women would make as much
as they now do. Saturday afternoon they do
very little, they do not have their minds on
their work, but are thinking of what they will do
after o'clock A half-holidav would be good
thing all round. should enjoy it myself"